Clout alone can’t make you a feminist

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Trump and Slumflower

What do Trump and the Slumflower have in common? Due to the platforms they hold, they have become poster children for social issues that far exceed their understanding. They are both majorly under-qualified to hold their respective positions and frequently misinform their fellow ignorant men and the naive. Take Sumflower discussing “feminism” for example, it is highly concerning.

Her latest twitter debacle shows this. It takes more than throwing around the word feminism to make you a feminist, and labeling a dislike of men as a type of feminism distracts from the real fight. We cannot alleviate the suffering of women by wishing ill of men. That is not my opinion. It is logic. It is fact.

Source: Twitter @Blick_Oyinbo

The above tweet sparked outrage on twitter yesterday for obvious reasons. To use feminism as justification for views is disgusting and illogical. You cannot use feminism to justify such gross flaws of character. To be so unaffected by the suicide of any persons, regardless of gender, is not something to be proud of. The latest suicide report by Samaritans states that “men remain three times as likely to take their own lives than women.”

If your initial reaction to this statistic is not one of empathy or compassion, I cannot understand how you can claim to be a decent person. More importantly, why is this opinion being expressed by someone who is regularly used as the face of campaigns that promote mental health and feminism? It would seem that self-imposed importance is more lucrative than human decency when it comes to branding.

Sumflower: The Perfect Poster-Child

The reality of the situation is materialistic corporations do not care about the validity of their poster child’s politics. They care about the money their following brings. In a time where outrage is currency, it is easy to garner influence by fueling hate, so the credibility of an influencers politics cannot be measured by their endorsements. The true meaning of feminism is losing the battle against capitalism, and clout culture. Feminism too often becomes the scapegoat for the sensationalization of women’s personal vendettas against men because it seems to validate emotions we feel so strongly.

Source: Twitter @httpEra404

Feminism is not a placeholder for the hatred of men. By definition, it is a theory and political movement that concerns itself with promoting gender equality. So we can invalidate the claims of the above tweet on two counts. The first being that any feminism seeks to make the world better for men alone, and the second being that the wellbeing of men is of no concern to a feminist.

Feminism has more than one wave, evolving with the times. In order to progress we must review what has been done and continue to build on it until we achieve equality. First-wave feminism gave women the right to vote. Second-wave feminism promoted sexual liberation. Both focused on affording women the same rights as men. They did not seek to diminish the rights of men. They also did not acknowledge that men have suffered under the very patriarchy that deems them superior. This is what the current wave of feminism seeks to rectify.

Source: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/389913280231705979/

The New Wave of Feminism

This current wave is therefore about breaking down stereotypical gendered norms. It is about allowing yourself to do what is right for you (socially, economically, politically, etc) regardless of gender. A man is entitled to stereotypical feminine privileges such as expressing vulnerability in the same way a woman is entitled to so-called masculine privileges such as having a job. It is not about inverting the gendered-power imbalance. However, it is about getting rid of the imbalance all together.

It is easy to hate men. They give us more than enough valid reason to, but it serves no feminist agenda to oppose men because they are not the actual problem. This coming from someone who regularly says “men are trash” might seem like a contradiction. However, I am able to make the necessary distinction between what the patriarchy produces and the patriarchy itself. As a feminist you have to understand what feminism opposes is the ideology of a superior and inferior sex, not men themselves. You cannot call yourself a feminist if you actually hate men. More importantly, you cannot hide your trash personality behind feminism and taint its reputation.

Amara is the Perspectives Editor for LAPP The Brand, and an English and Philosophy graduate. Amara is a proud Feminist who is passionate about breaking down gender constructs, but also has an extensive makeup collection.